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It’s hard to believe that the calendar has already flipped to 2019. In many ways, 2018 flew by at PowerObjects: new clients, new employees, new global offices, a new (to us) building in Minneapolis… good changes were all around us all the time. But there are a few things at PowerObjects that simply don’t change: our four pillars, our five Guiding Principles, our laser-focus on Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Business Applications, and certainly our commitment to publishing the number #1 Dynamics 365 Blog in the world.

For the 11th year in a row, we blogged information, guidance, training, and helpful hints – all freely accessible and relevant to the entire Dynamics 365 user group community. Since the inception of our blog in late 2007, we’ve penned nearly 1,800 blogs, 227 of which were posted in 2018 alone! And as has been our tradition in recent years, we like to reshare the top ten most popular blogs from the previous year. So, without further ado, we present the ten most-read 2018 PowerObjects blogposts:

9.Using Virtual Entities with Dynamics 365Virtual entities allow Microsoft Dynamics 365 users to utilize record information from external data sources and view the information in fields, search results, and even Fetch XML-based reports within Dynamic 365. You can read all about it in this blogpost.

8.How to Find the Object Type Code for Any EntityEach entity in your system has an Object Type code. For simplicity’s sake, think of it as a numbering system for all entities, including both out-of-the-box and custom. As a CRM expert, you could easily encounter a situation in which you need to identify the Object Type code for a given entity. We show you how!

7.Authentication to Dynamics 365 using Azure AppsNeed to make a connection to Microsoft Dynamics 365 from an outside source like a single-page application, a mobile application, or other service? Typically, authenticating to Dynamics 365 can be pretty darn challenging – but not if you read this blogpost.

6. How to Integrate Power BI with Dynamics 365 for Finance and OperationsPower BI is a suite of business analytics tools that allows users to analyze data and share insights. This robust tool provides extensive modeling capabilities, real-time analytics, and the option for custom development. Here you can read about how Power BI provides a great platform to create your own reports or simply tweak existing ones.

5.Electronic Reporting in Dynamics 365 for Finance and OperationsIn this Top-5 post, you’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about Electronic Reporting (ER) – a tool for configuring incoming/outgoing electronic documents in accordance with legal requirements of your specific country or region. ER lets you manage these configurations throughout each document’s lifecycle.

4.How to Install and View Organization Insights for Dynamics 365If you’ve ever longed for a simple and intuitive tool for tracking your organization’s metrics, the fourth-most-popular blogpost of 2018 is for you! Organization Insights for Dynamics 365 (online) is a free yet powerful tool that provides your system administrator with access to all the key metrics.

3.How to Bulk Update CRM Records Using the Bulk Workflow Execution ToolCracking the Top 3 is this popular post that shows you how to avoid the 250-record limit when doing mass updates. Indeed, Bulk Workflow Execution is a great tool that allows users to run – in bulk! – an On-Demand Workflow against a set of records pulled from a System or Personal View.

2. Using the Ribbon Workbench in CRM 2016In the #2 spot is a post that describes a helpful and fun-to-use tool for customizing buttons and actions in your CRM: the Ribbon Workbench. There are many scenarios in which this tool may come in handy – for example, let’s say you wanted to be able to resolve a case with a single click… this would be the tool for you!

1. How to Configure a Point of Sale in D365 for Retail in a DayOur most-read post of 2018 is a richly-detailed, articulately-described, and loaded-with-screenshots beauty describing the Point of Sale (POS) system available in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail. Setting up a new POS system in a retail environment can be done quickly, but the steps carefully outlined in this post must be followed closely. If you’re in retail, this is a must-read.

Well, dear reader, that’s it for our countdown. We hope you enjoyed our stroll down 2018’s Memory Lane. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog to receive the latest posts in your inbox!

I’ve been writing a forecast column every year at least since W was president. Nothing’s wrong with that, lots of people do.

However, I often find that my forecast is more of a wish list than a true prognostication, so this time I’ll dispense with the fiction of analytical rigor and just say what I think needs to happen.

Platforms and Leaders

First, the industry is consolidating. The big and successful companies are competing on a different plane than the smaller ones. The smaller guys are working harder than ever, and some are realizing they need niches — that they’re not going to be able to cover the whole customer relationship management landscape.

This is mostly a good thing, because it clarifies the mission and lowers the costs of being in the market. It also can mean better and more verticalized software. But there are two basic kinds of these companies — those that have credible platforms and those that don’t. Among those that do I’d list several, including Oracle, Salesforce and Zoho.

Oracle and Salesforce should not surprise but Zoho might. It has spent decades building a global solution and platform. There is only some overlap, with Salesforce attacking the really big enterprises and offering a huge ecosystem, but Zoho is a powerful solution for the small to mid-enterprise.

It also has a good ecosystem. One of the big differentiators is how much enterprise resource planning functionality you’re likely to need and where you plan to get it. Salesforce integrates well and has ERP partners like Financial Force, but Zoho offers good back office apps as a part of its service, as well as having that ecosystem.

Another vendor in the mix is NetSuite, which has been setting sales records since Oracle bought and significantly invested in it. NetSuite’s idea of CRM is e-commerce, though, so customers will self-select.

On the flip side, there are smallish vendors still working on their own platforms, and whose development teams are measured in the hundreds. In contrast, the market leaders have thousands of developers, which is why it’s time for the smaller vendors to find a niche and try to excel. With that comes a decision point about their platforms.

A Year of Integration

We’ve had years of artificial intelligence and social media, and even years of integration. I think it’s time for a year of integration on major pharmaceuticals.

We need better networking, and this needs to be led by the biggest names. A consortium including Microsoft, SAP and Adobe announced theOpen Data Initiative (ODI) last year, but I still think it is too little. Its major purpose is aimed more at slowing the advances of Oracle and Salesforce.

Oracle’s autonomous database and enhanced security present a major challenge to other database vendors. Salesforce has been drafting behind the Oracle relational database management system on this one and has that advantage.

The ODI focuses on building a common CRM data model. That sounds good, but it has too many moving parts — as in potentially every vendor in the industry. Smarter people have said the better approach to making everything talk is to facilitate the communication at the application programming interface level. I agree.

No surprise, some of the vendors conspicuously left off the Microsoft, SAP, Adobe invitation list have been pursuing the API approach, like Salesforce, and I think 2019 will be a banner year for more API-centric networking.

We need that approach too, not just in CRM but throughout the tech world, as we continue to build what will be a true information utility in the not-too-distant future.

Taking Social Seriously

Social media has deep roots in CRM — recall the year(s) of social CRM — and because it does, I think there’s subtle pressure in Silicon Valley for the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and all the rest to clean up their acts and mature their business models and security plans.

Virtually every social network either has been compromised or willingly has given access to private information to entities that shouldn’t have had it, recent reporting suggests. You can’t do CRM if customers get worried about how their data is being used.

CRM is an unwilling victim of social shenanigans, and CRM firms don’t want to be seen as willing partners, so the pressure is on.

Foolish social leaders will think they can wait out the federal government on regulation, but that approach could backfire when the feds deliver a set of regulations that don’t work. Remember, many of the people who would pass this legislation are in their 70s and have an archaic understanding of tech. Smart leaders will see this and volunteer to define what’s possible.

My Two Bits

I’m looking forward to 2019. I don’t think it will be a time of runaway growth and major innovation in CRM, though I would be pleased to be proven wrong. In a consolidating world, there will be some losers too, so be prepared.

I think the year ahead will impress by showing unprecedented innovation, with people and companies doing some unexpected things that make a lot of sense. I’m looking for the second or third tier of companies to be more aggressive in the mergers and acquisition arena in a bid to become more competitive.

After a lot of years in this seat, I’m still having fun, and I appreciate the opportunity to share my views with you.

Denis Pombriant is a well-known CRM industry analyst, strategist, writer and speaker. His new book, You Can’t Buy Customer Loyalty, But You Can Earn It, is now available on Amazon. His 2015 book, Solve for the Customer, is also available there.Email Denis.

I can’t work out how to convert a Chinese character into a series of lines (I realise not all strokes in a character are straight but can they be approximated by one). I’ve tried rasterizing the character and using ImageLines to pick out the strokes but couldn’t get it to work.

Once I have the data points for the end points of each line in the character I plan to get mathematica to search through linear transformations to find suitable transform between the end points of the lines to the coordinates of the cities and minimize the error.

So my question is how can I convert a Chinese character into an list of lines?

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About Krisgo

I’m a mom, that has worn many different hats in this life; from scout leader, camp craft teacher, parents group president, colorguard coach, member of the community band, stay-at-home-mom to full time worker, I’ve done it all– almost! I still love learning new things, especially creating and cooking. Most of all I love to laugh! Thanks for visiting – come back soon

Once you’ve answered, click here to see the poll results, and then scroll down to see the correct answer.

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The correct answer is C. DATEADD is a table function which takes a table of dates as input, shifts those dates by a given number of days, and returns the new table as output.

If you got it right, pat yourself on the back. If not, don’t feel bad! When most people are learning DAX, especially if coming from an Excel background, it takes some time to understand what different functions output and when to use them.

Over my years of DAX experience, I’ve frequently wished that Microsoft’s DAX Reference listed the output type for each function, but since it has yet to happen I decided to create this myself. I’m lucky to work with an amazing team of consultants here at P3, and I’ll build upon the great work that Mat Herring has done with his “Great Function Project.”

Let’s start with a review of table vs. scalar functions and when to use them.

What is a Scalar function?

A scalar functionreturns a single value. Generally, it’s an aggregator like SUM or AVERAGE which takes a column of data, performs an operation on it, and returns a number or text.

You would use a scalar function whenever you want to return a single cell of data, for example when you want to display data in a pivot table, pivot chart, or Power BI visual.

What is a table function?

Think of a table function as something that returns a table of data (imagine an Excel spreadsheet with rows and columns of data). In statistical programming terms, think of the output of a table function as a data frame.

In DAX, a table function is used in a few ways:

As input to another DAX function where the function argument requires a table. For example, the FILTER function iterates over a table of data and tests each value for a condition (actually any X function like SUMX or AVERAGEX is an iterator and would require a table as the first argument.)

As a calculated table definition in Power BI Desktop

As a query written against your data model using DAX Studio or SQL Server Management Studio.

One key limitation of a table function is that its output can’t be used in a visual in your report. If you think about it, each cell on a pivot table can only fit one number, not an entire table of numbers.

Other Types of Functions

In DAX, the majority of functions return either a scalar value or table. However, there are a few that are in a category of their own:

a) BOOLEAN (TRUE/FALSE): these functions test a condition and return true or false based on the condition (i.e., HASONEVALUE). You’d typically used these in combination with IF or SWITCH.

b) MODIFIER: these functions are only used in the context of modifying the dynamics of the CALCULATE function (i.e., CROSSFILTER) or the SUMMARIZECOLUMNS function.

The Function Output Type Reference

Now that you’re familiar with the different output types, here’s what you’ve all been waiting for. In the embedded report below, make sure you click on the “DAX” link and then filter by your desired “Return Type.”

A Couple of Observations

Once you’ve had a chance to review the Return Types for all your favorite functions, I want to point out a couple of key points.

Tables can become scalars: A neat feature of DAX is that any table function that resolves to a single row and column (i.e., one value) is automatically converted to a scalar value if possible. That means that you can use a table function as an input to another function, but do so cautiously to avoid the dreaded “Table of Multiple Values…” error.

IF/SWITCH can’t return tables: Another subtlety that I noted in my research is that IF and SWITCH can only return scalar values and NOT tables. Have a look at the pseudo-code DAX below:

Sadly, due to the limitation above this formula will fail to resolve. In one client situation, I could have reduced a 100-line measure to 40 lines if I could have generated a conditional filter table similar to the example above.

Re-cap

What we’ve learned today is that functions can return different data types. These include scalar values, tables of data, or Boolean true/false results. Also, several functions don’t return any value, but instead modify how another function operates. Keeping these differences in mind is critical to writing and debugging DAX code so be sure to bookmark this page and re-visit as often as necessary if you’re ever stuck. Enjoy!

We “give away” business-value-creating and escape-the-box-inspiring content like this article in part to show you that we’re not your average “tools” consulting firm. We’re sharp on the toolset for sure, but also on what makes businesses AND human beings “go.”

In three days’ time imagine what we can do for your bottom line. You should seriously consider finding out 🙂

* – unless, of course, you have two turntables and a microphone. We hear a lot of things are also located there.

Perry is directing and producing from his own script. Paramount Players has already set a Nov. 2 release date for the film.

Perry made the announcement on ABC’s talk show “The View,” which Goldberg has moderated for more than a decade.

Haddish will portray a wild woman who gets released from prison and reunites with her sister, played by Sumpter. Sumpter’s character is in an online relationship with a man that may be “catfishing” her.

Paramount Pictures launched Paramount Players in June, with veteran producer and executive Brian Robbins in charge. Robbins is working with Viacom’s Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and BET to generate projects, while the new division focuses on contemporary properties.

In October, Paramount Players acquired rights and set a Jan. 4, 2019, release date to the psychological horror movie “Eli” — its first film to go into production. It also tapped Taraji P. Henson to star in “What Men Want,” a gender-bending remake of the Paramount comedy “What Women Want,” and announced deals last month for a Gucci Mane biopic with Imagine Entertainment and a movie version of bestselling author David Arnold’s upcoming young adult novel “The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik.”

Goldberg is one of the few actors to have won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Oscar, and a Tony Award.

Spring is almost here! Which means spring break is right around the corner. If you’re hitting the beach for some well-deserved R&R, check out these eBooks and whitepapers from PowerObjects about digital transformation, trends in the travel and hospitality industry, and more.

In the age of the customer, the ultimate goal is to understand customers and give them the innovative experiences they want. For travel brands, the guest experience has never been so important. This is why the underlying trend for travel and hospitality needs to be making sure that any evolution in the customer journey is a positive one. Travel companies need to push the boundaries and adopt next-generation digital thinking, practices, and technical solutions.

Reclaim Direct, Profitable Relationships with Customers: A Special Report Brought to You by One Connected Community, Microsoft and PowerObjects

As innovative business models and mobile devices continue to disrupt and shape the way customers travel, one thing is clear – customer experience matters more than ever. In the age of the customer, the goal is to understand customers, give them the experiences they want and keep those experiences consistent across all touch points.

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Travel brands that invest in creating innovative customer experiences will gain the upper-hand by showing a genuine understanding and interest of customers’ needs, wants, and desires. World-class customer experiences will be the defining trait of travel companies that thrive in coming years.

The underlying trend is to make sure that any evolution in the customer journey is a positive one. But to create distinctive customer experiences, travel companies need to push the boundaries and adopt next-generation digital thinking, practices, and technical solutions.

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